Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1314046
54 FA L L 2 0 2 0 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y Even with crowd noise pumped through the console, the lack of 20,000 fans or more in the stands allowed language to find its way to air. "Oh, you have no idea [how much of a problem language is]! I got the biggest 'F-U' from the EKU coach two weeks ago," recounted Gamel. "It was one of those unfortunate events where the parabolic [microphone] just happened to be turned and he unloaded on the ref. It all hit air, and we're going, 'Oh crap, good thing it's on cable so we don't get busted,' and then 'Wow. that was funny.'" L uckily, the pressures presented to sound mixing for sports is not a new one to the field. Having gone from one or two microphones for a sport to 10 or more a game, Hurd and Gamel learned to keep their cool in tight situations. They prepare for the worst whether it is a microphone going out mid-game or just making quick decisions on what the game should sound like. They grew thick skin for when things go awry —which they will—and found a way to thrive off the challenge of getting it in one take. According to Gamel, "A1 is not an easy chair. It's probably the toughest chair in the production because if you screw up—I mean when you screw up, because you're going to—everybody knows it. It's just the nature of the beast. A1 is a hot seat. We like the pressure." And when the pressure is off, they find moments to enjoy. Whether it's meeting someone as great as Willie Mays while laying out cabling or covering the biggest sport event of the year, sports sound mixing leaves moments behind not experienced anywhere else. "I got to sit and play Ping Pong with Kobe Bryant on Thanksgiving on the road. It was a really cool experience," Hurd remembered. "And we did a college basketball game on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier down in San Diego. I got a picture with the captain and I got pictures with the admiral and I was like a kid. I'm just fascinated by airplanes, and here I am on an aircraft carrier doing a basketball game!" It's not just the experiences that make the job so enjoyable. Both fans of sports, Lee Gamel and Antony Hurd looked back on their careers fondly. Gamel spoke barely above a whisper when talking about his love of mixing baseball. So enthralled with the game, he described mixing in the sound of cleats hitting the base and reliving moments of his childhood watching the games. Hurd held the same passion—even admitting it distracted him at work sometimes. "I will make more mistakes at my position Antony Hurd in the Dodgers truck where he mixes the games.